


How to Train Your Steve

by chlare



Series: How To Train Your Steve [1]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Clever Tony, Crossover, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, M/M, Shapeshifting, Stubborn Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-12 23:20:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5685412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chlare/pseuds/chlare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve never expected to fall in with humans again; he's always felt more comfortable as a dragon. Luckily, he had to save Tony Stark one day. (Rated Teen for language.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	How to Train Your Steve

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fionhen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fionhen/gifts).



It's cloudy the day Steve meets Tony Stark. He has to fly down below the cloud cover to be able to see anything but clouds, and that's when the fireball bursts out of one of the huts below, as well as a man running out who's not nearly far enough away from the building to be out of range in time. It's instinct that makes Steve swoop down and wrap the man in the shield of his leathery wings. It's just Steve between him and that fireball, but it's enough. 

Tony is dazed when he's freed from the cocoon of cobalt blue wings, staggering away with surprise and shock lining his face. And then laughing over the experiment that caused the fireball in the first place. 

Steve flies off quickly, unsure of the man's sanity at this point, and as ever, worried about people getting ideas... wanting to ride him as though he's a mere horse. It's not that Steve is prideful or arrogant, but he _is_ stubborn. And he's not going to be shackled or saddled on a whim.

It's these thoughts clouding his focus that leave him vulnerable to the aftershock explosion that causes a burst of paraphernalia to shoot from the hut - complete with a large metal bolt from a crossbow piercing clean through his wing.

Steve drops like a rock, spinning, his dragon form unraveling as he can no longer keep control of the shift, and he hits the ground with a loud crunch to his very human shoulder.

Tony, as it turns out, is a terrible nursemaid; Steve wouldn't know it. 

He doesn't wake through Tony literally dragging Steve into his house. Steve's also dead to the world through most of the attempts at tea and poultices and bandaging his wounds, which Tony treats as something of a wrestling match, pushing Steve around as though he is indeed a stubborn dragon lying on his straw-filled bed. 

Steve's arm feels on fire the few times he does wake, and there are scratchy, dry trails of tears on his cheeks as he lies there in Tony's bed the rest of that day and the next. 

When Tony wakes from where he fell asleep at his singed workbench, he finds a sooty blue dragon curled up on the rug instead of a man in his bed.

***

Tony's seen his share of dragons in the village. Hell, he's met most of them, collecting data on them and their riders, starting to make what Tony calls a database. Notes on what dragons are best for what, or which move the best for certain activities, what they like to eat or don't. Cross-referencing. All that jazz. He's pretty good with dragons most days; Hiccup has retired and his daughter, Pepper, is village head now, but nothing involving dragons have changed. They're integral to the village now.

But Tony's never seen anything like this guy. Man and beast. It makes Tony's spine tingle, to think of what could've made something like this blue beauty happen. Is it natural, or is the guy an experiment gone very wrong?

Tony's careful as he tries to touch the injured wing, unable to resist the brilliant blue and seeing the crease of pain on the curled up dragon's face. 

He's not careful enough though, and Steve rears up in shock, wings filling the hut, bumping the bum wing, and a sheer cry of pain echoes through the valley below. It's then, though, that Tony sees the underside of Steve's wings, sees them flame from pure white to burning red.

This dragon is _magnificent_ , Tony thinks as he hightails it back across the room to wait it out behind a rough chair until the dragon settles.

***

Steve is very suspicious and uneasy as Tony inches back closer once the dust has settled. Steve hisses and scoots around the hut, staying low to the ground and just out of reach until Tony stands with hands on his hips as if he's going to give up, making Steve relax for a second - and then Tony jumps to tackle his scaly neck. 

Steve, astoundingly, does not set the hut or Tony on fire in his irritation, but when he gives in, he glares the whole time, even if Tony can't see him do it. Tony, meanwhile, is clambering down the small crests of Steve's back as though Steve is as familiar as his work bench. Nothing but stiff and tense, Steve can only crouch and wait for the pain. 

Normally, Steve heals fairly quickly, but regenerating part of a limb, apparently takes some time even for him. And while quicker than slow, it still hurts like the dickens. Meanwhile, Tony on his back is nattering on about how damn beautiful Steve is and has somehow gotten to the injured area of Steve's wing without Steve realizing, fingers already spreading some kind of salve from his little tool belt around the hole's edge. Steve shudders and lets out a mewling growl, Tony already swiftly trying to climb the rest of the way down Steve's back, sensing the impending change. The stress and strain has Steve's control slipping and he closes his eyes as he can't help but shift back to a man- Tony thudding into a heap on top of Steve's bare legs.

Tony rubs his forehead in exasperation as he drags Steve's solid mass of muscle back to his bed, but all-in-all, he feels pretty damn good about taming the wild Steve for just those few moments.

Definitely gotta try finding a way to get Steve into bed before he shifts though. Tony isn't exactly used to carrying behemoths around every day.

***

Database aside, what Tony really wants to know, what he really wants to catalog is how dragons can _fly_. Above anything Tony wants that. He wants to fly. Under his own power, not just on a dragon's back.

Funny how he feels a little bit closer to that when he looks into Steve's bright blue eyes. 

After Tony all but wrestles Steve into his bed, he finally gets a chance to ask the guy his name, and Tony tucks the blankets in tight - threatening to sit on Steve if he has to - and makes him stay in bed the rest of the day - hovering, much to Steve's annoyance. Tony changes the dressing on his wound again that evening, giving Steve some willow bark to chew, but Steve tells him not to waste it. It will go through his system all too quickly, Steve knows, but doesn't know how to explain that to Tony. Steve just turns his face to the wall and grits his teeth, which seem to start to lengthen-- so Tony works quicker, unable to help the brief grip he gives the guy's wrist. It's meant to be reassuring, but Steve's eyes flash stubbornly and Tony takes that as his cue when he finishes to dive back into working on a little doohickey at his workbench instead of the hovering he wants to do.

***

Steve's a dragon curled on the floor again in the morning, and Tony grudgingly lets his vibrantly blue friend outside later when Steve starts making whining noises at the door after breakfast, butting his head hopefully at the door.

Seriously, does Steve not know how cute he is? If Tony was the sort of guy to have a pet, he'd totally keep Steve.

Tony watches fondly with his arms crossed from the doorway as Steve rumbles around what Tony has of a yard on this jut of cliff at the edge of the village, experimentally flapping his good wing. The other he keeps folded close to his body, careful of it, like he's worried about damaging it more. Which Tony finds interesting since dragons are pretty durable most of the time. Maybe it's a gesture that comes more from the human side of Steve than the beast. 

Tony quirks a brow when Steve turns to look back at him in between some hopping around - frolicking, Tony's mind supplies. Tony's pretty sure the underside of Steve's wing turns faintly pink before Steve quits and tucks both wings tight to his body and takes some strong, high leaps away from the hut instead. 

Interesting.

***

Tony makes dinner that night - it's nearly inedible most nights he cooks, but that's not something he normally pays much attention too, but Steve has deigned to show up to the table in his dashingly handsome human form so, for some reason, that makes Tony self-conscious and feel like he should cook them an actual meal. He tries like Valhalla not to burn anything, but he suspects he fucks it up anyway, what with the small grimace that crosses Steve's face before he gives Tony a polite smile and tells him it's great.

From then on, Tony insists that Steve help him in the kitchen. Steve is only too happy to oblige, even if he's so big and bulky that Tony seems to bump into him at every turn, eventually resulting in Steve banishing him to the work bench. But Steve welcomes him back to the kitchen each meal, suffering Tony's blunders and haphazard knife skills until he's fed up with him and chivvies him off to tinker each time. 

Tony has a goofy smile on his face as he works, and Steve finds himself smiling too when he notices during one meal prep.

***

"You need to work that wing, Steve. It's never going to heal right if you don't," Tony calls to Steve!dragon. The dragon gives him a glare as if to say, 'how do you know?!'

Tony crosses his arms and quirks a brow. "I've been living with dragons, studying dragons over half my life, buddy. Not to mention been in a few scrapes myself. Injured stuff needs working out. C'mon, try it," Tony wheedles.

Steve pads around in a stubborn circle a few times before settling and then tentatively stretching his injured wing, moving very slowly until the wing is spread to its full span. Again, Tony can't help thinking _beautifulmagnificentamazing_ as he watches. It makes his heart thump and flip, actually, Steve is that awe-inspiring.

From the way he wakes up to Steve in the mornings, all dragon, Tony gets the feeling Steve is more comfortable as a dragon, but he also can't stick with it when he gets stressed or fearful. It makes Tony wonder why Steve sticks with the dragon when it's a form that's...kinda artificial if he has to...choose it. 

Steve is a puzzle wrapped up in an enigma. ...Tony likes that about his people-dragon hybrids.

***

One morning, Steve finds Tony curled up under his wing on the hut floor. Granted, there's a rug under them, but still. It's a hard floor, Tony can't be comfy. Tony shifts and huddles closer as the rush of cooler air hits him when Steve has lifted his wing. Or at least, Steve thinks that's why Tony is huddled close, but then there are noises, pained looks on Tony's face, and Steve quickly wraps his wing back tight around Tony.

They don't talk about it, but Steve spends a few nights now and then as a human just in case Tony has nightmares.

***

"You need to try flying again!"

"And if I go plummeting into the ocean because I can't hold my form?" Steve shouts back, pacing, vulnerably human.

"Then I grab a dragon and catch you, you big dummy!"

"Always an answer for everything with you, isn't there?" Steve is near growling now, but he's stopped pacing to cross his arms defensively.

"Steve, you can't just not fly forever. That's _insane_."

"I'm insane now?"

"I didn't mean it like that!"

"Yes, you did! You're just jealous because you want to be able to fly!"

That arrow hits home and Tony smashes his lips together, crossing his own arms now. "Low blow, Rogers. Fucking below the belt. You know that's not why I'm saying it. You know that." Tony jabs his finger in Steve's direction and stalks out of the hut, going right to the edge of his cliff, anger vibrating off him.

Shoulders slumped, Steve sidles to the door, just to keep an eye on Tony. Asshole, he thinks to himself as he watches Tony. It's his damn wing and he'll test it when he's good and--

Tony's just spread his arms and tipped himself off the cliff.

"TONY!" Steve screams, racing out of the hut, not even thinking as he shifts to blue scales and a wingspan the size of a house. He shoots himself up into the air and then down in a hard dive, eyes searching for Tony's falling body as the air seems to rush past him twice as fast as it normally does. Catching sight of Tony's spread-eagled form, finally, Steve flaps faster, darting like an arrow for Tony and swooping under him, ocean brushing his belly.

Tony latches arms around Steve's neck and whoops as loud as injured goat. He's going to kill him, Steve's really going to kill him for that. And when Steve tumbles into a landing, Tony rolling off him as Steve somersaults into his human form, Steve stalks at Tony, looming, swearing with every step, his heart thumping out of control. "You- You- Don't you ever do that again, you complete jackass!"

"Eh, it wouldn't work a second time," Tony shrugs, dusting himself off, but Steve can see the way Tony's trembling.

"You utter-- You could have died!" Steve is jabbing Tony hard in the chest now, just in the soft spot that makes him wince. "You could have fucking died, you jerk!" And that's when Steve finds his mouth on Tony's, hard and angry and so desperate he can't even think, he's shaking so badly. 

"Jesus, Steve." Tony sucks in a deep breath and wipes his mouth with his hand. "If that's what it took to get you to kiss me, I should've thrown myself off a cliff a lot fucking sooner." Tony grins.

And so does Steve. "Shut up, you big, fat idiot."

"Oh, fat now, huh? There's nothing wrong with a little extra me to love. You're really aces with the insults below the belt today, buddy." Tony grabs the back of Steve's neck and kisses him in return just to keep Steve from making some stubborn retort. ...Tony sure has a lot of training still to do with this dragon.

 

 


End file.
